GSL – GW18 Review -Like A Zlat out of Hell

Drafting in the Swedish Demigod turned a good week into a great week! Green arrows everywhere and making big gains on leaders in almost every league. It’s a Christmas Miracle!

THE GOOD

Starting from the back, Tom Heaton delivers again. After only making 2 saves, he somehow swept the full bonus points to add to his clean sheet, equally a wonderful 9 point haul. His ownership is still surprisingly low at 15.1% so he’s a great asset for GSL, and with Pickford being ruled out for a few months he’ll be heavily relied on to keep up the good work. Alonso getting 6 points is somewhat of a guarantee nowadays, so he barely makes the good section anymore.. But points is points, Thanks Marcos!

In the midfield we had 2 double figure hauls. Hazard delivered some welcome FPL output after a few blanks and Eriksen continued his fine form with a brace of assists. Hazard is being put under some real pressure with his hefty price tag and the need to free up funds to get Augero back into the team. Eriksen on the other hand, is providing great value and a reliable way into the spurs attack.

Upfront Origi nicked an assist, in Liverpool’s 4-1 win against Stoke, adding to his consistent stream of points. Since recruiting the young Belgian in GW14 he’s actually outscored Diego Costa, who has so many times been the villain as far as my FPL Gameweeks go. But with Sturridge breathing down his neck and Coutinho nearing a comeback, I’m unsure what his long term prospects hold. Add to that the Augero factor and Origi could be an unfortunate casualty in the upcoming gameweeks. Finally the man of the hour, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. His third consecutive double figure haul, if only I’d have gone for him instead of Kane.. but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Watching his performance you’d have been forgiven for thinking he was having an off day, his touch was terrible and looked shaky in front of goal. However, FPL is thankfully all about the hard facts, his goal and two assist (That Mkhitaryan Goal.. Wow) gave him a golden 15 point haul. Add to that he was wearing the Captains armband and it’s party time, 30 points!! Yes!!!

Elsewhere Harry Kane got on the scoresheet, however threw away a golden opportunity to stick it to the managers who let him go, after the turf conspired against him and ballooning a penalty over the crossbar, ending the day on 4 points.

THE BAD

The Saints v Spurs game saw 3 GSL players take part, however apart from Eriksen there was very little output. Cedric continued to disappoint with 0 points.. Walker picked up a yellow ruling himself out the next game.. a combined 1 point from 2 defenders.. Terrible.

Speaking of terrible, Swansea lost again allowing West Ham to roll them over at home. I had high hopes for a Siggy masterclass however he returned nothing. Not good enough, hopefully a change of manager will reignite his form and the points will come flowing back. Sanchez was another man to blank this week, however the fact that he was a captain choice for many this week make it a lot easier to stomach. He is still showing plenty of industry, however his shift to the wing could signal an end to the prolific output many managers now expect. And as mentioned already, the Augero problem is looming large. Time to get rid?? One look at his fixtures and you’ll know the answer.

All in all a very good week! The fixtures look strong for GW19 so this will hopefully be the start of a good spell for GSL. Preview to follow..